'Alfa Romeo split with Giovinazzi'
- GPblog.com
Will it be Guanyu Zhou? Nick de Vries perhaps? Or will Antonio Giovinazzi get the last open seat in Formula 1 after all? Alfa Romeo will probably decide in the near future which driver will be allowed to sit next to Valtteri Bottas in 2022.
End of practice
For Antonio Giovinazzi these are exciting days: after three seasons there are signs that his Formula 1 career will come to an end in four races. The Italian Autosprint is now even sure: Alfa Romeo has decided that Giovinazzi has to leave. According to the magazine, Giovinazzi's disobeying a team order to let his teammate Kimi Raikonnen pass him during the Mexican Grand Prix was already a first sign.
Autosprint quotes an interview Frederic Vasseur had with Canal+ last weekend: "The decision about the second driver has been taken and will be made public soon," Vasseur said. Autosprint even mentions a date, namely 16 November. For now Guanyu Zhou seems to be the best candidate to succeed Giovinazzi. The Chinese is currently second in the standings for the F2 title.
Away at Alpine
Zhou is associated with Alpine, for which he is a test driver. In order to join Alfa Romeo he has to break his ties with the French company. For Alfa Romeo, the arrival of Zhou would be a welcome boost, because he will bring 35 million euros sponsorship money with him.